Skip to content Spiritual Warfare: The Church’s Weapon Is Prayer Jul 9 · 13 min ...more
Spiritual Warfare: The Church’s Weapon Is Prayer
July 9, 2026 · 13 min
A clear reminder to believers that our battle is spiritual and prayer is a powerful, righteous weapon.
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David's Cry for God's Defense in Psalm 35 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to our oasis of praise as we continue our journey through the book of Psalms. Today, we're looking at Psalm 35 and 36 verse 9 of chapter 36. For with you is the fountain of0:21 life. In your light, we see light. Psalm 35 is considered David's appeal to God for deliverance from Saul who was pursuing David in the wilderness of En Gedi back in 1st0:33 Samuel chapter 24. We'll talk a little bit more about that in a moment. Psalm 35 is primarily a lament, but it's also considered an imprecatory psalm as David is calling for God to help the righteous0:44 by stopping the wicked. There's also a messianic application of this as well because Jesus quotes verse 16 or verse 19 in John chapter 15. Now the occasion0:56 for the writing of Psalm 36 is uncertain. It was most likely, during 1 of the times that Saul was pursuing David, or it could have been during Absalom's rebellion. Let's beginImprecatory Prayer and Vindication 1:08 1 verse 1, chapter 35. Plead my calls, oh lord, with those who strive with me. Fight against those who fight against me. Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.1:20 Also draw out the spear, and stop those who pursue me. Say to my soul, I am your salvation. Be my advocate, Lord. That's what David's saying. Now this is the connection that1:32 scholars see to 1st Samuel chapter 24 that I mentioned a moment ago. It's when David was unjustly being pursued by Saul. In verse 15 of that chapter, it says, therefore, let the lord be1:44 judge and judge between you and me, and see and plead my case and deliver me out of your hand. That's the connection with this Psalm. Warrior, and David is1:56 calling upon him to help him by battling his enemies. Jeremiah described God in a very similar way in Jeremiah chapter 20. He says, the Lord is with me as a dread warrior. Therefore, my2:07 persecutors will stumble. They will not overcome me. Now we've covered this before, but here we go again. The lord is a warrior. Now many are2:19 offended by such militaristic terminology, but it's in the Bible. Alright? And and and rather than being offended by it, we should be asking what is it trying to communicate to us? It communicates2:31 that we are in a battle. Now it's not a physical battle. Rather, it's a spiritual battle, but it's a battle nonetheless. In fact, I found that the spiritual battles are actually more difficult than the physical2:43 ones. As Paul wrote in 2nd Corinthians chapter 10 verse 4, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds. Now2:55 I I I received a message from someone asking where in the Bible is the phrase that I often use? The Old Testament speaks to the physical, whereas the New Testament speaks to the3:06 spiritual. Well, that phrase is not in the Bible, but the principle is clear as I just pointed out. Jesus, our model, he is our role model. He is our example. He battled Satan, the source of3:18 evil. It was a spiritual battle. He didn't, you know, he didn't go hand to hand combat with Satan, but he battled him spiritually. Again, look at the words of the apostle Paul in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12. For we do3:30 not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual host of wickedness in heavenly places. Alright. Back to our3:42 psalm here. In this imprecatory psalm, David uses 1 of those spiritual weapons. Okay? What is that? It's prayer. Be my advocate, but be their adversary. Verse 4. Let3:54 those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life. Let those be turned back and brought to confusion who plot my hurt. Let them be like the chaff before the wind blown4:05 away, and let the angel of the lord chase them. Let their way be dark and slippery, and let the angel of the lord pursue them. For without cause, right, look at4:17 this. For without cause, they have hidden their net for me in a pit, which they have dug without cause for my life. Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly, and let his4:29 net that he has hidden catch himself into that very destruction, let him fall. Now just keeping this in context of over in 1st Samuel chapter 24. Remember,4:41 David didn't take vengeance. He didn't go after Saul when he had the opportunity to do that. He turned it over to the lord, and that's what he's doing here. He's saying, lord, I'm not gonna do it myself. I'm praying that4:53 you will defend me. David is asking god to turn the tables on his enemy and make the pursuers pursuers the pursued by the lord, not by him. There is debate over whether or not in this age5:05 of grace, we should be praying imprecatory prayers. Well, 1st, David is praying for god to defend him against those who devise evil against5:17 him and hate him for no cause. And I think we can do the same, and we should do the same. Secondly, David's prayer is aligned with what god has declared.5:29 In Isaiah 54 17, which was written, I know, after David, but the truth would have applied to David in his day as well. Verse 17 of Isaiah 54, no weapon5:41 formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue which rises against you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the lord, and their righteousness is from me, says the lord. I prayed5:52 that many times, and I believe we can. And we should pray that when we are pursued or we're opposed or we're persecuted without calls. Now, I mean, there6:04 as I said, there are many times that I pray that god would cause the schemes of those who oppose him because it's his word, that I hold up. But I I pray that those who oppose6:16 the lord, his word, his people, that their schemes would be turned on them with this outcome that they would be prompted to understand that Jesus Christ is lord and their eyes would be open to that truth, and they would6:28 come to know him as lord as well. Alright. Look again at what he prays in verse 4. Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor who seek after my life. Let those be turned back and brought6:40 to confusion who plot my hurt. Then look at, at verse 26. Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor6:52 who exalt themselves against me. Now jump back to, verse 24. Vindicate me, oh lord my god, according to your righteousness, and let them not rejoice over me. Notice7:04 here that David's appeal is not to his own righteousness. Although he makes the case in this chapter, he's being targeted without calls. His appeal is to the righteousness of the lord. Verse 25. Let7:16 them not say in their hearts, ah, so we would have it. Let them not say we have swallowed him up. Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion who rejoice at my hurt. Let them be clothed with shame7:28 and dishonor who exalt themselves against me. Rather than evil men be glad because of their evil schemes, David prays, let them shout for joy. Let the7:39 people of God let them shout for joy and be glad who favor my righteous calls. And let them say continually, let the lord be magnified, who have pleasure in the prosperity of7:51 his servants. And my tongue shall speak of your righteousness and of your praise all the day long. Don't let the evil people, theTurning the Tables on Evil 8:03 wicked, those who reject you, rejoice that their schemes prevail, but rather let the people of God rejoice because you are faithful. Again, this Psalm follows the pattern of an8:15 appeal to God followed by a promise of praise, and we must never fail to praise the lord for who he is and the good things that he has done. Now let's look8:27 at Psalm 36, and and I'm gonna use the ESV translation for this chapter because I think it brings out some of the words a little better. Verse 1, transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart. There is no fear of8:39 god before his eyes, for he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. David immediately immediately puts his finger on the heart of wickedness. There8:50 is no fear of God because the ungodly believe they are beyond the reach of God and his judgment that God doesn't see, if in fact, they even deny the fact that there is a God. Verse 36, the9:02 words of his mouth are trouble and deceit. He has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed. He sets himself in a way that is not good. He does not reject evil. Now these 1st9:14 4 verses describe the wicked who are then contrasted with those who put their trust in god, who know him and his righteousness. Look at verse 5. Your steadfast love,9:26 or that can be translated mercy or kindness, oh lord, extends to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. Your righteousness is like the mountains of god. Your judgments are like the9:38 great deep man and beast you save, oh lord. How precious is your steadfast love, your kindness, oh god. The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.9:51 They feast on the abundance of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. For with you is the fountain of life, and in your light10:02 do we see light. I love this verse, which means God is life, and through God we understand life. He gives us life, life, and through him, we understand how to10:14 live. Bottom line, Jesus is the answer. Look at the benefits that flow to those who put their trust in God. Unending mercy and kindness of God. The preserving wisdom of God's righteousness10:26 and judges. We if we live by the ways of God, guess what? We avoid so many pitfalls and difficulties. A refuge from the storms of this world, there is a place to run and be under the cover10:47 understanding of life. It makes it gives us an understanding of the purpose and the meaning of life, which that's what man is looking for,Wickedness vs. God's Steadfast Love 11:04 understanding of life. And this is the water that Jesus the understanding of life. And this is the water that Jesus offered to the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4 verse 13. Jesus answered and said to11:16 him, whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, speaking of the well that they were standing at. But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst, but the water that I shall11:28 give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life. See, the fountain of life is found in Jesus, the light of the world. Trust11:40 him and discover the abundant life. Father, we thank you for your word, and we thank you that you are life and that through you, we understand how to live, that you bring11:52 meaning and purpose to this life as we trust Jesus Christ, the fountain of living water and the light of the world. I pray, lord, if there are any that happen to be on this journey that haveFountain of Life in Jesus & Closing 12:03 never trusted Jesus Christ as their lord and savior, that they would do that. They would confess him with their mouth that he is savior. They would believe in their heart that you raised him from the dead to overcome the12:15 grave and that he died on that cross for their sins. Father, I I pray that that decision would be made today, not delayed, but behold, today is the day of12:27 salvation. May the Holy Spirit lead them. I pray in Jesus' name. Amen. If you made that decision today for the 1st time, I'd like to hear from you because we'd like to follow-up with you and pray for you. You can email12:39 me tony at tony perkins dot com, and we wanna pray for you. We I pray for all of you who are on this journey that God would use his word to strengthen you, to encourage you, to give12:50 direction to you. And as Jesus prayed that it would sanctify us, keeping us from the evil 1. Until next time, keep standing on the word.13:04 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day,13:16 you can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 David's Cry for God's Defense in Psalm 351:08 Imprecatory Prayer and Vindication8:00 Turning the Tables on Evil10:58 Wickedness vs. God's Steadfast Love11:54 Fountain of Life in Jesus & Closing
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